James Gibson will replace Didier Mahout who will transition to head of central Europe, based in Budapest.
Mr Gibson will be responsible for managing the bank's overall activities in Australasia, a BNP Paribas statement said.
BNP Paribas chief executive of Asia Pacific Eric Raynaud said: "As the oldest major foreign bank in Australia, BNP Paribas continues to underline its commitment to the Australasian market with strong investment in our people, our products and our systems."
"James' appointment comes at a time when we look to continue the growth of our business in Australasia and where we are seeing sound business momentum," Mr Raynaud said.
Mr Gibson joined BNP Paribas in 2011 and was most recently head of regional human resources for Asia Pacific.
Mr Gibson has held previous positions with a number of financial institutions in France, the Nordic region, the United States and the United Kingdom, the statement said.
